Visions of Sugarplums
by ravenclawslibrary
Summary: A 50 First Hamburger Dates fic from last year. Enjoy the Rumbelle goodness, starring Jefferson and Grace.
1. Visions of Sugarplums

**Title**: Visions of Sugar Plums

**Word** **count**:1,709

**Rating**: PG

_A/N: __**I'm pretty sure this got lost in the Tumblrverse during the blackout so reposting just in case**__. My 50 First Hamburger dates fic from last year, all ready to go! This kind of got away from me and became a bit more Christmas-y than I'd planned. _

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin was far more annoyed with the town of Storybrooke than he'd ever been.

It was bad enough he couldn't leave this insufferable place without being wiped of his memories, but having to deal with the constant meddling of the townsfolk in his personal affairs was more than he could take.

The first time Belle had attempted to reschedule their date after it was so rudely interrupted, he was surprised to say the least. And now, each time their plans fell through, he felt more and more sure she would just give up on whole thing entirely. In short, Rumpelstiltskin was getting desperate.

So it was on a snowy winter night that Rumpelstiltskin met his true love long past closing time at Granny's.

He watched Belle smother a yawn as she approached the deserted diner, but the yawn melted into a grin when she caught sight of him.

She kissed him on the cheek in greeting and then looked around in confusion. "Rumple, why did you need to see me so late? Is everything all right?"

"Yes, yes." He answered, cheeks still a bit red from her kiss. "Everything's fine, follow me." He continued cryptically as they climbed the steps to the diner door.

He could see Belle's surprise when the lights came on at their approach, and Granny sleepily ushered them inside.

They chose a booth, and Rum grinned at her questioning look. "Well it was clear we were never going to get through a meal in peace during regular business hours, so I've arranged for something else."

Granny snorted from behind the counter, "Yeah and I'm charging him a fortune for keeping me up so late." It was true, an entire month's rent had been forgiven for not only the diner but the inn as well. Rumpelstiltskin tried not to sneer as Granny shuffled over and set two plates of burgers and fries down in front of them.

"This is wonderful," Belle said, "We've got the whole place to ourselves?"

"It's all ours, dearie." Rum replied, pleased with himself.

"Goodnight, and don't forget to lock up when you leave." Granny said firmly, though Belle suspected the tone was targeted more at Rumpelstiltskin than her. They waited for her to head out the back and then commenced with their meal.

They passed condiments and napkins back and forth easily, ketchup traded for barbeque sauce and her extra pickle for his tomatoes. The movements were almost a habit by now after so many failed attempts.

With his plan was going perfectly, Rum was content until the tinkling of the bell over the door reminded him that he'd forgotten to lock it.

He sighed in defeat as a flurry of snowflakes made their way inside accompanied by a tiny voice calling, "Belle!"

Grace and her father Jefferson walked hand in hand into Granny's, the latter looking around the empty diner with an amused expression.

"Hmm, breaking in are we?" Jefferson asked. "I hope so, I haven't been able to call on our newly reinstated Sheriff Swan in a while. This would certainly qualify."

Grace had meanwhile taken the opportunity to plop herself down in their booth directly next to Belle. "He's reported three fake cat burglars in the past week, so she's stopped taking his calls." She told Belle, her voice taking on the serious tone all children seemed to adopt when relating an important story to an adult.

"Now, now," Jefferson smiled, tapping his daughter on the nose, "how do you know that calico wasn't up to something? He seemed plenty suspicious to me."

Grace giggled at her father's joke, while Rum wondered if it was in fact a joke. He was never certain how much of the Hatter's madness was for show and how much was genuine insanity. Either way, he wasn't going to let either Jefferson or his daughter ruin this date. Not this time.

"Might I ask what you're doing with your daughter out and about at such a late hour?" Rum asked, his voice dangerously low.

Belle shot him a disapproving look, but it was Grace who answered him.

"I need to talk to Belle. It's a secret, so you can wait outside." Grace folded her arms across the table, clearly waiting for him to get up and leave.

Rum had to catch his mouth from hanging open. Leave it to a child to address him so bluntly, to say nothing of the sass.

He looked to Belle for help, but she was biting her lip to cover a grin. Jefferson similarly turned his laugh into a small coughing fit, but Grace didn't budge, even going so far as to purposefully shoot her eyes towards the door as if he hadn't gotten the hint.

Belle of course eventually came to his rescue. "Rumpelstiltskin is actually a great secret-keeper." She told Grace. "The best I'd expect. Your secret will be safe with him."

A small pang of guilt twisted in his stomach at that, but he knew it wasn't meant as a jab. He'd been adamant about being open and honest with Belle lately, and she knew she appreciated the effort he was making.

Grace looked at him suspiciously, but after an encouraging nod from Belle, she seemed to give in.

"Well I decided tonight on a Christmas present for Henry." Grace explained. "Dad was telling me this story about a nutcracker that gets turned into a real prince! And there's mice and a fairy, and then I recognized it from a book we read in school last year. I figured since there's a fairy in it, it might be real like our stories are real! The problem is, I know it's not in Henry's book since he's showed me all the stories."

Rum could see where this was going, but short of tossing a ten-year-old out on the sidewalk, he was powerless to stop it.

Grace, however, didn't seem to notice his despair and continued on with her story. "So I figured, I'll get him a book with the nutcracker story and we can figure out if it's real together!"

One look at Belle proved she was absolutely enchanted with the girl. "What a wonderful idea, Grace! You'll be getting him a book, and a mystery to solve. It's the perfect gift for a boy like Henry."

The girl practically glowed under Belle's praise. "So can you help me look for a copy in the library?" Grace asked, her eyes widening with childlike begging.

"Oh, um…" Belle looked to Rum for help, but he already had his wrath fixed on Jefferson.

"And rather than tucking her in for sleep after a bedtime story, you decided a midnight visit to the closed library was a better alternative for a child of ten?" Rum practically growled.

"Well cake and ice cream before bedtime does tend to wind them up, doesn't it?" Jefferson admitted with almost no shame. It seemed after 28 years of separation, he was intent on spoiling his daughter rotten. "Who am I to deny my girl her adventure?"

"Dad's plan was to sneak in," Grace confessed, "but when I saw you walking into Granny's I figured it'd be more polite to just come and ask."

"Well thank you for not breaking in," Belle said, "but I don't think we have a copy of that book in the library."

"What?" Grace practically moaned.

"I've been through the inventory nearly a dozen times, and I don't recognize that title." Belle replied sadly. "I'm so sorry, Grace."

Rumpelstiltskin hid his small smile of victory as best he could, sure that his date had just been impossibly saved. Jefferson could now drag the girl to bed, and he and Belle could finish their hamburgers.

"But how else are we supposed to find out if the Sugar Plum Fairy is real?" Grace whined. "She sounds amazing! Queen of a _whole _land of sweets and treats and toys! Wouldn't that be the best job ever?"

Grace sighed with longing, but didn't quite catch the shifty look Jefferson and Rumple exchanged. They'd both had dealings with that god-awful fairy a time or two, and neither was eager to recount the experience. Jefferson had enjoyed her flirty nature a time or two, but Rum had found her extremely vain and utterly useless.

When he turned back to face Belle, she was looking at the miserable girl in despair, like she'd single handedly crushed Christmas.

"I wish I could help…" Belle furrowed her brow, running a comforting hand through the girl's hair. "Maybe we can check Rumple's shop and see if he has a copy?"

He opened his mouth immediately to refuse, but he suddenly he had two bright and hopeful pairs of eyes trained on him. He turned to glare at the Hatter, but Jefferson was determinedly looking anywhere else, tapping his chin as if still thinking of solutions.

One last encouraging look from Belle had him sighing and pushing his plate away.

"I believe I remember acquiring a copy off the nuns at some point." He answered gloomily.

"YES!" Grace shouted, hopping out of the booth.

He more than a little startled when she grabbed his hand and yanked, intent on pulling him along with her.

"We can go right now! We'll look all night if we have to! Right, Papa?" Grace beamed up at her father.

Jefferson looked about to excitedly agree with her, which might well have earned him a cane to the face, until Belle interjected, "If all four of us look, I'm sure we'll find it in no time."

"Great, let's go!" Grace released her hold on Rum in favor of dragging her father along and out the door.

He watched Belle grab their plates, dropping their burgers in the trash before linking her arm through his.

"It seems a bit redundant to suggest we reschedule, doesn't it?" Rum asked.

"A bit." Belle agreed.

Despite his disappointment, Rum smiled as she whispered a quiet 'thank you' in his ear after they turned off the lights and locked up the diner. As they followed Jefferson and Grace down the block towards his pawnshop, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but wish the father and daughter had just gone ahead and broken into the damn library.

He and Belle could have finished their date, and Jefferson could have finally gotten his rendezvous with Sheriff Swan.


	2. Waltz of the Snowflakes

**Title**: Waltz of the Snowflakes

**Word Count**: 1,782

_A/N: This goes along with my 50 First Hamburger Dates piece, __Visions of Sugar Plums__. There was supposed to be more Rumbelle, but then the Sugar Plum Fairy turned angsty and kind of dominated the fic. _

***For 3pirouette and our shared love of The Nutcracker***

* * *

The only thing Rumpelstiltskin hated more than fairies were nosy fairies. Tiny pixies that stuck their grubby little fingers where they didn't belong.

He thought he'd had the last of fairy business after the _almighty Ruehl Gorm_ took it upon herself to 'help' Bae by sending him off to a strange land all by himself. After a few decades of trying unsuccessfully to hunt her down, all the other fairies had learned to fear him. Many even ran from the slightest mention of his name.

Rumpelstiltskin had taken some personal pleasure in that.

Now, three centuries later, he found himself lacking a crucial ingredient to the curse that would reunite him with Baelfire. And it was all because of a fairy.

Normally, it would have been no problem to find an enchanted snowflake. The mountains surrounding his castle were usually covered in them. Being in proximity to so much magic it was to be expected, and Rumple usually got exclusive access to their magical properties.

However, this winter all of his snow had vanished overnight.

"Damn you, you thieving little firefly!" He shouted as he inspected his bare mountains.

It was easy to figure out where the snow had gone. She'd practically left her calling card as far as magical signatures went.

The gap between their worlds was thin to begin with, and her little trick made it nearly effortless for him to jump the boundaries into her realm, no portal needed.

His senses were immediately overloaded by bright colors and sweet smells when he arrived. He'd managed to land himself in a cotton candy field of all things, but it was easy enough to follow the chocolate river to the castle in the distance.

He imagined many children dreamed of lands like this, which is expressly why he never came here. Baelfire would have loved it. He could remember countless nights when the two of them had gone hungry, and Bae would wake up and tell him dreams of an entire house built of sweets or a forest made of bread.

To avoid painful memories, Rumple usually sent Jefferson to deal with the Queen of this realm. Unfortunately, Jefferson was out of the game, and Rum was left to his own devices.

He threw open the candy studded doors to the throne room, but the elegantly dressed members of the court didn't seem surprised at his arrival. In fact, they parted for him with ease as he stormed up to confront their ruler.

The Sugar Plum Fairy sat primly on her throne, the picture of calmness, as if the most feared being in all the realms weren't barreling towards her like a bull.

Her golden hair was curled up in an elaborate style, and topped off with a dainty tiara. She would look almost childlike if it weren't for the rest of her ensemble. A too tight bodice barely concealed her torso, and a skirt not unlike the fairies from the Enchanted Forest flared out at her waist, leaving her legs bare and free for movement. Finally, a glittering staff, which she used in place of a normal fairy wand, rested lazily in her hands.

"Rumpelstiltskin," She sighed his name, "You've finally come to visit us! I didn't think you'd ever leave that gloomy fortress of yours."

He ignored her greeting in favor of a show of anger, magically slamming the doors shut behind him.

"Give it back." He demanded.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" She arched an eyebrow in question, but the small smirk on her lips proved she understood him perfectly.

"My snow." He growled. "Give me my snow, I've no time for your games."

"Oh right!" She exclaimed, as if she'd simply forgotten about the 50 tons of snowflakes she'd stolen. "It's actually my snow now."

With a small tap of her staff to the floor, snowflakes started to gracefully drift down into the ballroom.

"Sugar…" He snarled.

As with all the other items she procured for her land, his snow had been transformed. If one looked close enough, they would notice that each flake now resembled a miniature lady, even smaller than a fairy. But rather than falling to the floor at the end of their journey, they simply continued to swirl around the massive room.

Various members of the court let out soft cries of joy at the spectacle, but Rumple's glare stayed fixed on their queen.

"Bravo dearie, you've made your scene." He grit out the words. "Now if you please…"

Not sensing his tone – or perhaps ignoring it – Sugar left her throne to twirl among the snowflakes. "But they seem so happy here, Rumpelstiltksin. Look how they dance!"

As she spun towards him, Rum grabbed her by the shoulders, his claws digging into her smooth, sparkly flesh.

"Oh," She breathed, not seeming to mind his right grip at all. In fact, she pressed closer to him, as if craving the contact. "I should have known you liked to play rough. You do seem the type." She whispered to him, leaning in close.

Rumpelstiltskin practically growled. Unbelievable. The little tart had the nerve to steal from him and now to flirt with him.

"That's not what I'm here for." He squeezed tighter, his claws nearly drawing blood, to make his point.

"Then why not send your darling Jefferson instead?" She pouted. "He hasn't visited in ages. At least _he_ pays attention to me." She shook off his hold, fluttering away.

"Enough!" Rumple hissed. "I know why you did this, and I'm in no mood for any of it, so simply give me what's mine and I'll be off."

"Really? Enlighten me, oh Dark One. What are my nefarious motives?" She giggled at her own joke, and her court took their cue, joining in with her.

Rumple hissed and the quieted. It seemed it was time to start playing rough after all. "Everyone knows your story, dearie. Not easy keeping a secret like that." He responded in his favorite mocking tone, the one that could set even Regina on edge.

As expected, he saw her tense slightly.

"Let's see, how _does_ it go?" He laid it on thick. "Ah yes, eager young fairy blunders her first godmother assignment. Unfortunate accident that was._"_

"Rumpelstiltskin…" She warned, voice still bright but her easy smile slipping just a bit.

"Really the boy only wanted to be a better fighter to impress his sweetheart, and the poor soul ends up as a toy soldier for the rest of his days. Embarrassing mix up wasn't it?"

"Stop." Sugar practically barked at him, all tinkling sweetness gone.

But he wasn't nearly done yet. "And rather than facing the consequences of her mistake, said eager young fairy decides to abscond with the year's supply of fairy dust and create a world all her own. That didn't exactly please your other fairy friends did it?"

"Enough!" She shrieked, slamming her staff against the floor violently. The sound echoed through the hall, and a hush fell over the room as the bright lights dimmed and the snowflakes disappeared.

Rumple spared a glance back at the members of her court, who now hung limp and lifeless, reverted back to their original doll states. He made his distate clear, gently nudging one, causing it to slump to the floor.

"Let's not forget the tragic end to the story." He rumbled, stalking closer to her, his footsteps like cracks of thunder in the now silent and ominous ballroom. "You find yourself stuck here, exiled by your kind, incapable of any _true_ magic." He paused to let that sink in. "Alone."

She shrunk away from him, her air of confidence gone, looking more like a chastised child now.

"So you steal enchantments from others and use your pitiful power to make yourself companions to fill the lonely hours. It's a wonder you've not gone mad yet, with only dolls and sweets to keep you company." He looked around the room.

Sugar had crawled back onto her throne, but was attempting to pull herself back together. All she managed was a fragile glare.

"They always said you were the cruelest of men."

"That I am." He agreed. "Now my snow, if you please?"

She tapped her staff weakly against the ground one final time. "It's been returned." She squeaked.

"Pleasure doing business with you." He smirked and turned to the doors.

He caught one last look at the fairy before leaving, and tried not to be shaken by the utter devastation on her face as she watched him go. How pitiful a creature she must be, to lament the parting of even the most grotesque of visitors.

He stopped that train of thought immediately, before gods forbid he started to feel sorry for a fairy.

~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i

Walking back through his own castle was a bit jarring to the senses after being in such a bright and decorative palace, but he appreciated the more subtle adornments himself.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" an excited voice drifted to him from the great hall.

Belle's small form appeared in the doorway, both hands grabbing onto the door as she skidded to a stop. She was breathing fast as if she'd run to greet him, and a brilliant smile adorned her face. This was the happiest he'd seen her since she took down the curtains last week, and he couldn't help it if the corners of his mouth lifted slightly in response to her.

"The snow is back!" She called down.

She turned a practically skipped back into the hall, which he took as an invitation to follow. He found her pressed up against one of the windows gazing out at the once again snow covered mountains.

Most of her attention, however, seemed to be on the snowflakes still falling from the sky. Many of them truly did appear to be dancing, still holding some of the magic from the Sugar Plum Fairy.

"Where did it go, do you think?" She asked, eyes still locked on the window.

"Somewhere dreadful I expect." He tried to sound grumpy, but it was difficult with her exuding so much joy.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be back in time to see it." She said softly.

"What? The snowfall?" He asked, confused.

"Of course. It's just about spring already, there's not likely to be another this year."

He made a small sound of agreement. He hadn't really thought about it.

"Well I'm glad you made it." She smiled up at him. "It wouldn't have been as nice watching it alone."

He looked down at her strangely. Surely she didn't actually enjoy his company?

Catching sight of his puzzled expression, she just laughed. "What good is snow if you don't have someone to watch it fall with you?"

Her bright eyes returned to the window, and they watched until the last snowflake touched the ground, at which point Rumpelstiltskin excused himself to his tower to begin experimenting again.

As usual though, Belle's words stayed with him as he inspected the snowflakes, and he began to think on the lonely fairy left with nothing and no one in the land of sweets.

His mind soon returned to other things, but it was no coincidence that the following winter, the Sugar Plum Fairy received a surprising batch of enchanted snowflakes the day after the Dark Castle had its first snowfall.


End file.
